2016 Buyer's Guide: Best Bikes for Climbing

The lightest frame in Trek's substantial range of race machines tips the scales at a feathery 690 grams. For the complete Emonda SLR 10 build, Trek chose only the lightest, best-thought-out components to make total bike weight in the 10-pound range—parts like a one-piece bar and stem from house brand Bontrager, carbon tubular wheels from Tune, and SRAM Red components, making the Emonda one of the lightest production bikes in the world. But fear not—despite its light weight, the Emonda can take all the pounding of racing at the highest level, proven by the Trek Factory racing team in 2015 and again by Trek-Segafredo for 2016.

Trek Emonda SLR 10, $14999.00

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Cannondale CAAD12 Black Inc

Cannondale

Just because your budget is moderate doesn’t mean that your machine should be. The Cannondale CAAD12 packs a lot of punch for a mid-priced ride. The heart of the bike draws on Cannondale’s long history of sculpting some of the best alloy frames in the marketplace. The 2016 version is a an everyman's racer, well appointed with Shimano Dura-Ace components and a carbon fork, Cannondale HollowGram cranks, and Mavic wheels. It borrows heavily from the tube shapes of the company's flagship carbon racer, the SuperSix EVO, and is carefully curated for a balance of comfort and stiffness that's sure to deliver on long climbs.

Cannondale CAAD12 Black Inc, $5860.00

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Scott Addict SL

Scott

After a short hiatus from Scott's line, the Addict is back and redesigned from the ground up. Scott’s engineers were able to retain the stiffness and ride quality of the original while shaving weight for a frameset that tips the scales at 1,000 grams (size 54). SRAM Red components help keep total bike weight low. The Addict takes advantage of Scott's house brand Syncros with a complement of lightweight carbon cockpit components, a choice that adds to the comfort of the bike and allows for fast accelerations and wind-cheating aerodynamics. Stock wheels are Zipp’s best-in-class 202 wheelset, great for racing or training.

Whether you're climbing mountains or descending them, the Giant Defy does both with aplomb. With its taller headtube and slightly relaxed angles, the Defy is at home on any terrain; in fact, ProTour Team Giant-Alpecin grabs this bike for the cobbled classics each spring. Once the lightest frame in Giant's arsenal (supplanted this season by the new TCR), the Defy is still on par with the lightest frames available—even when outfitted with disc brakes, it tips the scales at a feathery 16.1 pounds. Built with Dura-Ace Di2 components, the complete bike is rounded out with Giant's carbon tubeless-compatible clincher wheels and carbon bar and stem.

Giant Defy Advanced SL-0, $8300.00

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Specialized Amira SW

Specialized

A perennial favorite among the women on staff at Bicycling, the Amira is Specialized's female counterpoint to the Tarmac, and the S-works version just happens to be the lightest bike among all the brand's road offerings, for both women and men. The frame is constructed with Specialized FACT carbon and features size-specific tubing to give riders of any size an excellent fit. Aimed squarely at aggressive riding and racing, we have found it favorable to any type of ride, from fast crits and road races to all-day explorations.

Specialized Amira SW, $8000.00

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Fuji SL 1.1

Fuji

When creating Fuji's new SL line, which replaced the Altamira as the brand's top offering, engineers were given one directive: Make it light without sacrificing the ride of the Altamira.

To accomplish this Fuji, uses high-compaction molding to ensure that no wrinkles or excess resin are left behind in high-stress areas, such as the head tube junction and bottom bracket area. While the company began using that method on the Altamira in 2013, the process is now expanded to cover the seat junction and fork crown.

The main tubes are constructed as a monocoque assembly with one-piece seat- and chainstays bonded in. This reduces the number of bonded joints from eight on the Altamira to four on the SL. Fuji claims it results in a stronger, lighter assembly. The fork is full carbon, and the crown gets the same high-compaction treatment with legs that feature a reinforcing rib running the full length from dropout to crown.

Fuji uses size-specific tubes and layups to tune the ride across the size range, and specs two different fork rakes to keep trail numbers similar irrespective of frame size.

As disc brakes for road bikes became more popular and the UCI loosened restrictions on the technology at the sport's highest level, Focus was ready to respond with the Izalco Disc. Aside from the obvious addition of disc brakes, the Izalco retains the formidable ride and comfort qualities of the rim brake version. A full carbon construction is built with SRAM Red components, and the brakes use the new flat mount system for further weight savings. DT Swiss tubeless-compatible RC 38 carbon clinchers complete this race-ready model. Those wheels are held on by the company's RAT system of thru axles, which are designed for fast wheel changes. Unlike other versions that thread in place, the RAT system utilizes a keyed interface to lock the axle to the wheel. Insert the thru axle, rotate a quarter turn, and flip the lever to lock.

Focus Izalco Max Disc Red, $6800.00

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Time Izon Aktiv

Time

Time is one of the few companies in the bike industry to weave its own carbon fiber tubes. This allows the French manufacturer to do three things: tune the ride of the Izon for a customized balance of weight to stiffness; refine the ride of the frame to best handle pedaling loads; and dial in shock absorption. Our favorite part of this frame? The fork. Time integrates a harmonic damper in the blades of the fork to help filter out road vibration—and it works. The ride of the bike is dramatically different with the Aktiv fork installed. Road noise and chatter are all but eliminated, making the Izon one of the most comfortable race bikes we’ve tossed a leg over. Available as a frameset only in the US, riders can build the Izon to their specifications.

Time Izon Aktiv, $5555.00

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BH Ultralight Evo

BH

The BH Ultralight Evo is much more than just a climbing bike. Its feathery weight is excellent while ascending mountains, but the bike's overall demeanor assures that the time you gain on the rise won’t be lost on the descents. The full-carbon frame takes advantage of BB386, something BH helped co-develop with parts giant FSA. This adds to the overall stiffness and power transfer in the drivetrain. The frames will accept mechanical or electronic drivetrains, so riders can build the Basque missile they really want.

BH Ultralight Evo, $4000.00

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Ridley Helium SL

Ridley

Ridley's flagship carbon road racing model makes no concessions to the current air-cheating aero craze. (You can get that with the company's Noah.) The Helium is fast, light, and a great choice when climbing for ages. It favors fast, hard-nosed, stem-gnawing miles. The head-tube is low and, like the entire cockpit, all about getting down to the business of turning yourself inside out. The sole concession to comfort: svelte seat-stays that take some edge off road chatter.

What better way to celebrate your 110th birthday than building a bike that pushes the limits of what's possible for weight? At 100 grams less then the current Zero7, the limited edition Zero6 from Wilier does just that. Based on the current Zero7, the 6 uses the same molds and tube shapes, but shaves off 100 grams thanks to a new carbon fiber called DIALED, produced by Mitsubishi Japan. That results in a frame that tips the scales at a claimed 680 grams and a total bike weight of 12 pounds. But Wilier didn’t just make the bike lighter; it very carefully retained all the model's great handling characteristics and ride comfort. Complete bike prices start at $10,500 for a Campagnolo Super Record-equipped model. Other versions are available with both electronic and mechanical Shimano Dura-Ace.

Wilier Zero.6, $10500.00

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Cervelo RCa

Cervelo

We're sorry: You’ll probably never ride one of these $10,000 limited edition frames. But the technology that goes into them will certainly influence the rest of the Cervelo line. Born out of Project California, a no-holds-barred exercise of Cervelo’s in-house carbon facility, the RCa took the company's long-used Squoval tube shapes and added subtle aero cues to better cheat the wind. To wring out every last gram of weight savings, Cervelo developed dropouts of compressed carbon fiber and added internal reinforcing ribs to the frame to help deal with torsion and lend support to the lightweight tubes.

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